I remember the last terminal patient I nursed before I quit hospital work. I was doing an agency
shift on the general medicine unit and she was a green 28-year-old lady who wasn't expected to
survive out the day. The reason she was green was because her liver had failed sometime previously
and her jaundice was now very profound.

"But I didn't ever drink more than friends did." She protested to one of the other nurses. I guess
it seemed unfair. She wasn't an alcoholic, hadn't ever deliberately hurt another person, injected
drugs or been unemployed. She was simply a "good time girl" and now she was green and really didn't
look very nice at all. She died later in the day, surrounded by her horrified friends and distraught
family. That was a very difficult day at work indeed.

When the media revealed that following his liver transplant George Best's alcoholism was continuing
unabated, the number of organ donations dropped enormously. I guess potential donors took the view
that they didn't want "people like him" getting their organs. As I said to one guy at work who
dramatically tore up his donor card in protest, "So, because George Best breaks a second
liver, no one else is allowed to have one either?"

Public and media attitudes can be very strange indeed and just filled with contradictions. Several
years ago, the Marie Stopes clinic announced that a new technique for abortions meant that overnight
stays in in the clinic could be unnecessary. The technique was less traumatic and less intrusive and
the woman undergoing the procedure could be in and out in an hour.

So, how did the media carry the story? Well: "Maries Stopes Clinic Announce The Lunch Time
Abortion." Yes, that is right folks, now you can have an abortion in your lunch hour.

This is disgraceful. To portray abortion as a frivolous event to be happily reserved for lunchtime
is reframing at its very worst. It is almost as if the media were stating, "Yes, we agree with
women's right to choose, but surely it should carry some level of trauma in order to allay our sense
of moral discomfort?"

This is why I'll be watching the media with interest regarding two of the main health-news stories
today.

Tonight - no pub, no booze, no cigarettes. Instead I am joining the astronomy club. I'm looking to
the stars.

I live.I remember the last terminal patient I nursed before I quit hospital work. I was doing an
agency shift on the general medicine unit and she was a green 28-year-old lady who wasn't expected
to survive out the day. The reason she was green was because her liver had failed sometime
previously and her jaundice was now very profound.

"But I didn't ever drink more than friends did." She protested to one of the other nurses. I guess
it seemed unfair. She wasn't an alcoholic, hadn't ever deliberately hurt another person, injected
drugs or been unemployed. She was simply a "good time girl" and now she was green and really didn't
look very nice at all. She died later in the day, surrounded by her horrified friends and distraught
family. That was a very difficult day at work indeed.

When the media revealed that following his liver transplant George Best's alcoholism was continuing
unabated, the number of organ donations dropped enormously. I guess potential donors took the view
that they didn't want "people like him" getting their organs. As I said to one guy at work who
dramatically tore up his donor card in protest, "So, because George Best breaks a second
liver, no one else is allowed to have one either?"

Public and media attitudes can be very strange indeed and just filled with contradictions. Several
years ago, the Marie Stopes clinic announced that a new technique for abortions meant that overnight
stays in in the clinic could be unnecessary. The technique was less traumatic and less intrusive and
the woman undergoing the procedure could be in and out in an hour.

So, how did the media carry the story? Well: "Maries Stopes Clinic Announce The Lunch Time
Abortion." Yes, that is right folks, now you can have an abortion in your lunch hour.

This is disgraceful. To portray abortion as a frivolous event to be happily reserved for lunchtime
is reframing at its very worst. It is almost as if the media were stating, "Yes, we agree with
women's right to choose, but surely it should carry some level of trauma in order to allay our sense
of moral discomfort?"

This is why I'll be watching the media with interest regarding two of the main health-news stories
today.